Vegan Swedish Cinnamon Buns with a twist

December is finally here and oh how I love the festive season. During this time of the year, people tend to be a little bit more jolly, a little more friendly and there is so much tasty food going around this time of year. One of my favorite Christmas treats has to be the classic Swedish Cinnamon Buns. They just make me feel so incredibly festive and they are just SO yummy! Although I absolutely love the traditional cinnamon bun, I thought I’d like to try to experiment with the recipe I have used for year’s and see if I could make it a little less sugary, vegan and just a little healthier than the original recipe. I really do like experimenting in the kitchen and don’t get me wrong, I don’t always get the quantities right. I believe in trial and error! This recipe took me a couple of times to get right but I have to say that the swearing in the kitchen was totally worth it. Even Rob (my partner) loved it and he is pretty critical to so-called “healthy versions” of unhealthy foods. Needless to say, I’d class that as success 🙂

Rather than just sticking to the classic cinnamon recipe I have added hazelnut chocolate and pistachio to add to the warming cinnamon flavor and it turned out better than I thought, hurray!

This recipe is super easy to follow just contain natural, organic and vegan products that are both good for your body and for your soul 🙂

Add the almond milk and half of your vegan butter in a saucepan and heat for a few minutes, Make sure it does not boil. Remove from the heat and let it cool down to a lukewarm temperature.

Once your mixture has cooled, transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the yeast. Let this sit for another 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.

Next add the flour, salt and the Stevia ( make sure you only add about 1/2 cup of the flour at a time, stirring as you go.) Once you have added all the flour you should be left with a slightly sticky dough. Transfer your dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two. Transfer your dough to a mixing bowl that has been lightly coated with oil and place a clean tea towel over it. Leave for 1 hour to rise.

Now on to the yummy chocolate and pistachio filling. Start with chopping up your pistachio nuts then add 2 tbsp of Mr Organic Chocolate and Hazelnut spread, and the rest of the butter, cinnamon, and the agave syrup. Put your mixture over a very gentle heat. Mix in 3/4 of your chopped pistachio nuts. Add 1 tbsp of unsweetened almond milk. Mix until fully blended. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool down.

Lay a sheet of baking parchment on the work surface and roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Spread your cinnamon chocolate mixture evenly over the dough.

Once this is done, just roll your dough into a long roll then slice the log into about two inches thick slices. Melt about 1 tbsp of vegan butter and rush this over your slices.

Set on top of the oven to let rise again while you pre-heat oven to 175C.

Bake your rolls for 25 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Let them cool down a little and then use the remaining pistachio nuts and a little bit of cinnamon as topping over your buns and there you have it, my vegan take on the traditional Swedish Cinnamon rolls.
Enjoy 🙂